BROWNING – The mountains here, rising from the plains along the Blackfeet Indian Reservation’s western border, have seen their share of suffering.

Over the past century-and-a-half, the Blackfeet have endured starvation, smallpox and massacre at the hands of the U.S. government. Now self-governed under the auspices of the federal government, the tribe’s reservation struggles with endemic violent crime at levels twice the national average.

Wendy Bremner, a Bureau of Indian Affairs victim specialist, is among those grappling with that legacy.

Her position, she said, is one of nine nationwide through a program developed by the Obama administration to assist tribal members affected by crimes, particularly those perpetrated against Native women.

In March, Bremner was honored by the state U.S. Attorney’s Office for her contribution to public safety in Indian Country.

“She addresses the needs of crime victims in a caring and professional way, enabling her law enforcement partners to apprehend and prosecute perpetrators,” U.S. Attorney Michael Cotter said in a release announcing the award.

“The volume of work in Blackfeet is breathtaking,” he continued. “Despite the great needs, Bremner is tireless.”

Bremner is on-call 24/7 to help those affected by crimes such as sexual assault, domestic violence and major assaults, she said, helping victims cope not just with the immediate aftermath of their ordeal but also providing support throughout the often-lengthy process of seeking justice and healing.

Born and raised in Browning, Bremner studied at the University of Montana for a year while a young mother, then transferred back to Blackfeet Community College to complete an associate degree in criminal justice. Before taking the victim specialist position in 2010, she worked as a clerk and prosecutor with the Blackfeet tribal court and returned to UM to earn a master’s degree in sociology, Indian law and statistics.

Her office in the Browning BIA building is decorated with dozens of pictures of her family. A sticker bears the phrase “Sexual violence IS NOT our tradition.”

Not yet healed

As is the case with other reservations in Montana, the Blackfeet reservation’s crime rates are well above those of the state’s other communities — “to the tune of two or three times higher,” in the estimation of Assistant U.S. Attorney Danna Jackson, the Montana U.S. Attorney’s office tribal liaison.

In Bremner’s view, much of the reservation’s crime is rooted in trauma suffered by the Blackfeet historically, including from starvation, disease and the 1870 Bear River massacre, which saw 173 noncombatant Blackfeet killed by U.S. Army troops and survivors abandoned with minimal supplies and shelter in subzero temperatures.

At times, she also said, Indian children were removed from their homes and sent to boarding schools — many notorious for their high rates of sexual abuse — disrupting the tribe’s ability to pass traditional culture from generation to generation.

“If you can imagine the impact of that on a people,” she said. “We’re dealing with a disruption of an entire culture.”

“There’s still a lot of resentment and fear and mistrust because of that era,” she added.

Even today, Blackfeet children tend to have far more traumatic childhoods than their off-reservation peers. One study, Bremner said, showed that students at Browning Middle School had an average of 14 “adverse childhood experiences” such as witnessing an assault. Nationally, a majority of children experience fewer than four.

“If you don’t take care of that stuff, you’re going to have high levels of crime,” Bremner said.

A third of American Indian women nationally have been victims of rape in their lifetime, the federal government estimated in 2000 — a figure almost twice the national average. Data specific to the Blackfeet reservation isn’t available, Bremner said, but she thinks its rate is even higher.

“There’s a culture of traumatization that grows many generations deep,” said Jackson, whose role involves prosecuting major crimes committed on reservations.

“We see perpetrators who were once victims,” she said. “That’s pretty heartbreaking.”

“It’s something we haven’t healed yet,” Bremner said.

“We need people to understand that,” she added. “We feel like people think we’re just bad people.”

Challenges

Bremner also serves as an advocate for victims at a policy level, pointing to places where the justice system fails to meet their needs. She’s quick to list challenges.

Poverty, for instance, tends to compound criminal justice issues. Women victimized by domestic violence can find themselves trapped in a home where they are abused because they don’t have anywhere else to find shelter, and those who flee often end up homeless or couch surfing.

Police and other social services are also chronically understaffed, Bremner said. “We only have one child protection worker. We need 10.”

As a result, Bremner said, she’s seen recurring domestic violence victims in rural parts of the reservation give up on calling police because they don’t get a response in time for it to help.

She doesn’t blame the officers, who she said were working without pay or funding to put gas in patrol vehicles as of May 14 because of tribal government gridlock.

“It’s put a whole new twist on fighting crime here,” she said. “It takes money to run their program.”

Jurisdictional issues between tribal court systems with limited power and federal court systems with limited interest in trying minor crimes can complicate prosecutions, as well.

Hope

It’s people like Bremner working “in the trenches,” Jackson said, who give her hope.

There also has been significant federal legislation in recent years — the 2010 Tribal Law and Order Act and the 2013 of the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act — aimed at helping tribes promote public safety, Jackson said.

And, Bremner said, there are reasons to be hopeful closer to home, as well.

“People don’t want to leave the reservation,” Bremner said. “There are a lot of positive things about being Blackfeet.”

She pointed, for instance, to how strong family relationships make it rare for a child abuse victim to not have somewhere to go and to the reservation community’s ability to rally around things like toy and clothing drives.

“Our community is just awesome for outpourings of generosity,” she said, “even though they’re struggling themselves.”

“We’re coming to more of an understanding of why this stuff is happening,” she added, noting that the tribe has an increasing number of educated people, and more community groups focused on addressing its problems.

“We’re working toward healing,” she said. “We’re starting to get there.”